What are boomers like in Spain?
I am quoted in a feature article by Rosanna Carcaller, in La Vanguardia: “The idea that the baby boomer generation is responsible for all the economic, social, and political problems we face today is a myth, constructed by politicians and commentators (…). Blaming the boomers is a toxic mix of anxieties about an aging population, concerns […]
Kirstie Allsopp is right about parental safetyism
The TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has been reported to social services for allowing her then 15-year-old son Oscar to go on a post-GCSEs interrailing trip with his 16-year-old friend. Earlier this week she posted on X celebrating Oscar’s safe return from his travels, leading to a predictable furore about parental irresponsibility and the dangers of the world out there. She has […]
Keir Starmer’s war on mothers
As their swift suspensions indicated, Keir Starmer can probably cope with a rebellion of “pissed-off” Labour MPs over his failure to commit to scrapping the two-child benefit cap. But when even Suella Braverman, the Right-winger that right-thinkers love to hate, gets in on the act, he must sense trouble brewing. The benefit cap, which prevents parents […]
The pensions ‘quadruple lock’ is not an attack on the young
As the UK Labour Party cuddles up to the youth with a cynical pledge to give votes to schoolchildren, the ailing Tories have doubled down on the grey vote, promising further protections to the state pension via the ‘triple lock plus’, or ‘quadruple lock’. Yes, this may be a shameless bribe from Sunak and Co. But does that mean it’s actually […]
What’s up with Generation Z?
I am quoted in a thoughtful feature article for the Observer by James Tapper, published on 3 March.
Sociology and the problem of ‘social generations’
In evaluating the power and limitations of the ‘social generations’ concept, developed by Karl Mannheim in the 1920s, my chapter in Studying Generations: Multidisciplinary Perspectives reviews the different approaches to the study of generations within the discipline of sociology, with particular regard to their relationship to contemporary social, historical and political developments. It further suggests that the […]
Schools are still reeling from lockdown
Parents, remember this time three years ago? In England, we just had been locked down for Christmas, waiting with clenched teeth for the start of the next school term, only for the school gates to be slammed shut for a further two months. Our kids were condemned to another run of aimless, formless days, tended […]
The real chaos of the ‘new normal’
“Generation gap” is a term that trips neatly off the tongue, often used to describe banal differences between older and younger people in matters of cultural taste, approaches to work, political opinion, and myriad other features of social life. Just yesterday, The Times added sex to that list, telling us that Gen Z, compared to their elders, […]
The ‘stolen years’: understanding the lockdowns
It’s not surprising lockdown was experienced as an era of loneliness, anxiety and fear. In every arena, freedom, autonomy and social life were restricted in favour of Zoom calls, family bubbles, and vaccine passports. Some say we are seeing a permanent shift in the experience of growing up. But to what extent has Covid given […]